Yoshi's New IslandReview

Don’t make the mistake of writing off Yoshi’s New Island as a kids game because of its chalk-inspired graphics and annoying toddler-style soundtrack. Over the course of this nine-hour adventure, it retains the same strong level designs that made the 1995 Super Nintendo original an amazing game. But all its strengths are repeats from the classic, and its new ideas don’t gain traction.

Yoshi’s New Island is propped up by the classic platforming formula that makes this series special. Unlike most platformers, it’s not all about keeping Yoshi alive; instead, you’re escorting Baby Mario through perilous stages, and that adds a distinctive and tense twist to traditional platforming. Yoshi’s unique skill-based egg attacks, which must be manually aimed, add some challenge to fending off enemies.

Exit Theatre Mode

The sharp controls have the same feel of the classic 2D SNES game, and the six worlds are full of well-hidden collectibles. If you’ve played any Nintendo platformers, this should sound familiar, because Yoshi ’s New Island repackages the essential pieces well.

Like all good platformers, this one builds stages around unique ideas, and these constant switchups made me eagerly anticipate what developer Arzest would toss my way next. In Flatbed Ferry Freefall, platforms drop down when stepped on, but then swing up and around with momentum that can be used to launch Yoshi across gaps and other obstacles. In Lose the Lunge Fish, the aptly named Lunge Fish stalks you whenever you approached open water; a careless misstep here would end in the Yoshi becoming fish food. Each world is capped off by boss fights that are clever, but end a bit too quickly. It ramps up smoothly from easy to genuinely challenging, and I enjoyed each stage and area more than the last.

The only interruptions to that flow are checkpoint placements that don’t always make sense, and brief sections in most levels that half-heartedly experiment with new ideas. The Egg-dozer, for example, is a new egg attack that can help break into closed off areas to earn extra lives and a metal variant helps explore underwater stages. But you’ll rarely use it because those level designs never really commit to the idea. And the vehicle stages don’t feel good because of imprecise motion control.

Even multiplayer feels sloppily tacked-on. The six two-player minigame modes focus on simple time-based score challenges. How many enemies can you and a friend turn into eggs? How far can you stay airborne using Yoshi’s handy flutter jump? How about when frequent bouts of lag are screwing you up?

Exit Theatre Mode

A more superficial issue that doesn’t really affect gameplay, but did grate on me, is inconsistency in the art style. At times the storybook effect looks good and conveys the idea of walking through a child’s coloring book, including Nintendo’s usual cute faces and adorable eyes on clouds and hills. It’s especially good in the last three worlds. But other times the art style clashes, like when it takes a colorful foreground and tosses up a Japanese Sumi-e style painting as the background. And lava-themed levels toss in a lighting effect that looks like a radioactive glow. It just doesn’t look good, though playing with 3D enabled makes it work a bit better.

Sadly, music isn’t a strong suit in Yoshi’s New Island either. The sound design comes from a combination of items found in a young child’s playroom, like squeaky toys mixed with xylophones, flutes, kazoos, and other contraptions. Even the joyous end-of-level celebrations just come across as irritated-but-excited noise.

The Verdict

Yoshi’s New Island’s inconsistent art and tacked-on new ideas are all layered on top of the same strong platforming and level design that made the original great. This deep understanding of pacing and flow helps Yoshi’s latest adventure stand out as the best iteration on Yoshi since the SNES original. Even if I wanted to play with the sound turned off.